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Lionsgate and YouTube strike an ad-sharing deal

Written by Andre Yoskowitz @ 17 Jul 2008 5:48 User comments (2)

Lionsgate and YouTube strike an ad-sharing deal

Lionsgate, the movie studio, has confirmed that is has struck an ad-sharing deal with YouTube, the first of its kind.
The deal, according to sources, could be the first of many, with Disney, MGM, Universal and Warner Bros. likely to follow in the near future.

The deal was first announced by Google CEO Eric Schmidt and subsequently confirmed by Curt Marvis, president of digital media over at Lionsgate.

"You can take the strategy of fighting an endless war of trying to take down and resist YouTube or you can take the strategy of embracing the fact people seem to want to watch content in this way,"
Marvis said.

All the details of the deal were still being hammered out but what is clear is that there will be a Lionsgate-branded channel created which will include advertisement on clips from Lionsgate content, such as the popular "Saw" series of movies and the popular TV show "Weeds."



Marvis also added that the company was trying to work out a transactional model in which YouTube users can watch a clip, of say "Saw IV", then be served a link that will lead them to a service where they can purchase the full digital download of the film.

The deal also calls for "providing more clips for users to make their own via mash-ups and the like, as well as other engagement-building tools." The deal however, does not allow for the distribution of full-length content.

Adds Marvis, "I think we're the first studio to make a move to really try to create a new level of monetization of the YouTube audience."

There was no exact launch date for the branded channel yet but it is expected before the end of 2008.

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2 user comments

118.7.2008 02:39

"Clips" of the film..? Whoop de frickin doo! If I did want to watch a movie that had ads in it, I'd rather see the whole film. I can tolerate the usual fifteen to thirty second ads that seen to be typical of internet video. I don't even mind the so-called "non-intrusive" ads that kind of fade in and out while the movie is still playing. If I wanted to BUY the film, I'd buy the actual DVD.

218.7.2008 08:40

As long as users can post 5min clips of any movie from the partner line up then its a worth while deal if they still are clip police over them then its pointless.

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